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Akira Hayama
Akira Hayama (葉山 アキラ Hayama Akira) is a 92nd Tōtsuki Generation student in Tōtsuki Culinary Academy and Jun Shiomi's assistant. He is proficient in the usage of spices and is known for his incredible sense of smell and mastery of aroma. Appearance Akira has long, white hair that is mostly tied in a pony tail when he is cooking. His bangs are neatly swept to the right. He is also considerably tall and has a dark skin and green eyes. He often wears his school uniform unbuttoned with a shirt inside, with a loosen tie around his uniform collar. When Akira cooks, he wears a dark chef's uniform. In his youth, Akira's hair was shorter but still retained his side swept bangs. His clothes were much more dirty considering the living conditions of the neighborhood he grew up in. Personality Akira is a confident and calm student in Tōtsuki. Because of his sharp sense of smell that rivals Erina's God's Tongue, Akira proudly displays his ability and is not shy to say that he is the best chef in the school because of it. Like many of his classmates, Akira firmly believes that he will stand on top of Tōtsuki thanks to his abilities and is one of the few people who will stand up to Erina, declaring that he will claim her spot. Akira tends to stay in a neutral mood, rarely showing any sort or shock when confronted by any opposing force, even the likes of Subaru Mimasaka and Ryō Kurokiba. It is stated by Fuyumi Mizuhara he only thinks about winning, never considering if he will fail or lose. He is extremely diligent, always covering up for any sort of mistakes that Jun forgets to do around the seminar room. Much of Akira's drive comes from Jun Shiomi who found him in the streets of an unknown country. She brought him to Tōtsuki to expand his horizons. Since then, Akira has been thankful and has served as her assistant. He has stated that Jun is the reason why he continues to cook. As such, he even denied a lucrative job at the Haubi Food Company solely because he only purpose is to help Jun and refuses to stand at the top of Tōtsuki without her help. However, he is not above scolding her for being neglectful and even lectures her when she is irresponsible despite the fact that she is an adult while he is still only a student. History Akira grew up in an unspecified country where he frequented a local marketplace. During one of his outings, he saw a young girl attempting to buy spice from a merchant. However, before she could buy them, he warned her that he could tell from his acute sense of smell that she was about to buy a weak blend of spices. Although it greatly upset the merchant, Akira escaped with the girl and told her that a little girl should not be in such a shady marketplace alone, but she introduced herself as Jun Shiomi, an adult lecturer at Tōtsuki Culinary Academy. Impressed by his smelling abilities, Jun invited him to Tōtsuki and he entered the middle school section, eventually making it into the high school section. Akira was present during the Spring Orientation Ceremony and witnessed Sōma Yukihira give his infamous opening speech, sparking some interest in Akira to challenge him. He made it through the Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp and was eventually selected to participate in the 43rd Annual Tōtsuki Autumn Election. He successfully completed the Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training camp as a part of the 628 surviving students. Plot 43rd Annual Tōtsuki Autumn Election Main Article:Tōtsuki Autumn Election Arc During the camp, Akira's abilities caught the attention of the numerous alumni as well as the Tōtsuki board, who chose him to participate in the 43rd Annual Tōtsuki Autumn Election. When the participants for the election were revealed, Akira saw his name, but choose to stand away from the crowd as he sniffed a stick of cinnamon. Meeting Sōma The day after the announcement, Jun sent Akira out to the grocers. Upon his return to her Lecture room Akira found Jun standing above Sōma Yukihira, who she had just punched, as well as Megumi Tadokoro who had accompanied Sōma. Sōma and Megumi came to Jun's classroom to seek knowledge about spices from her. Initially, Jun decided to only teach Megumi, denying any help to Sōma due to the trauma inflicted upon her by his Father's test dishes when they were in school together. Akira promply served some tea and apologized for Jun's rashness as he introduced himself. Though Jun tried to scold Akira for not addressing her as Professor Shiomi, Akira reminded and scolded her for neglecting the spice plants in her classroom which he did instead, causing her to shrink figuratively. Thanks to some goading by Sōma and Megumi Jun finally started to help the both of them by explaining the science of spices. Unfortunately she entered her lecture mode, going off on a tangent from the purpose of their visit. With Jun too engrossed in her explanation, Akira invited Sōma and Megumi into the kitchen to try some of his spice dishes. Akira quickly made a Kozhi Varutha Curry dish for the two and a single bite was all that was needed to impress Sōma. Next he whipped up two servings of Goa Fish Curry with one having a minor difference of roasting the spices in one of them that made it more delicious than the other one. Finally, Akira served what seemed to be another Kozhi Varutha Curry plate, however the aroma and flavor was stronger because he boiled the spices in water. After experiencing Akira's curry samples, Sōma noticed that Akira did not look into any of his pots the entire time. Akira explained that his sharp sense of smell benefited Shiomi as he put her research into practice. Akira informed Sōma that he would be in Block "A". He then told Sōma that his dishes were amusing, but they were no match for someone like him who has mastered the art of aroma cooking. Akira boldly stated that he will be the one to stand at the top of Tōtsuki. To his surprise though, Sōma told him that he would make a curry better than his in the Preliminaries. Confused, Akira asked what Sōma thought about his samples. Sōma admitted that they were terrific, but if anyone could create something more delicious than him, he saw that as a challenge. As Sōma and Megumi departed, Akira declared that in the spice heavy battle for the Preliminaries, there is no way that he could win. Akira spent the summer perfecting his dish for the Preliminaries. After weeks of experimenting made a special compound of spices that he guaranteed would place him on top of the Preliminaries, much to Jun's concerns about his health since he spent numerous all nighters to create it. As Shiomi left, Akira later remarked that defeat would never cross in his mind. Still agitated by Soma's visit and declaration, Akira silently vowed that he will prove the combination of Jun's research and his cooking skills will set him at the top of Tōtsuki. Tōtsuki Autumn Election: Preliminary Round As the Summer Vacation concluded, Akira is among the 60 entries brace themselves in confidence as the Festival has finally held. While gathering within the crowd, Akira see Soma is among the crowds and walks past over him with an unfriendly whisper that criticized Sōma's profession by stated about Soma's "faint" spice. The two would exchange words until Akira blended into the crowd as his rude farewell. Among the others, Akira joined the other participants listens to Senzaemon Nakiri's briefing about the festival and learn that only 8 out of 60 participants are qualified for the Main Tournament. Soon after his speech, he went to Bock A with the reset of the participant. With the rush in on, Akira would go to Block A. As the Preliminary Round is underway, Akira is making his dish with spices's aroma is felt around the arena. He is also made a dough to make a Naan (Indian Bread), with extra spice to enhance the scent. The aroma is so tempting that all the audience believed Akira would emerged victorious. Seemly got the upper hand through the crowd's ovation, Akira turn his attention towards Sōma and see him in action, only found him snoozing while the pot is cooking. As Soma finally awaken from his sleep and present his curry dish however, it will blow his mind in an unexpected way. Akira smelled a strong aroma from Sōma's side to which he forced to close his nose. He then went to Sōma's side and told him the dish includes banana, carrot and apple and the ingredients itself would thicken the curry gravy, which Sōma gave him a positive response and compliment over his nose made Akira speechless. Additionally, Akira suspects Soma's dish hid something beyond his observation which even his nose didn't recognizes, begin to curious about the dish while livid as he learned from Sōma's that the dish is only recently tested previous morning and accidentally oversleep while cooking; made him livid about Soma's slack yet boldness would even create such unexpected phenomenal event. Prior the judgement has begin in Block A, Akira remained silent as his fellow Block A participant, Ryō Kurokiba, has emerged as the 1st place after his curry had gave Natsume and the rest of the judges a terrific impression, yet he showed no sign of surprise. Akira remained composed while informed Sōma that he promised to exchange dishes to find out who was superior. It is Akira turn to present this dishes and his unique dish has gotten everyone's attention. He throw a spoon to Sōma and tell him and the judges open the dish, which the aroma flows around the stadium. Even with Natsume's luxurious offer, Akira declines it and tell Natsume that he did this just for Shiomi's sake before he left. The presentation has rewarded Hayama 94 points, with 3 18 points and 2 20 points from Natsume and Minatozaka, as his final score, surpassed Ryō's and became the new leading participant in the stadium. As it is Sōma's turn to present his dish, Akira is given some partial of the dish and irate when he sees Sōma's confident smile, while remain composed as he still assumed that Sōma is weak in curry dishes. Like everyone in the stadium, Akira is surprised that Sōma openes his dish, Curry Risotto Omurice, and released amount of aroma around the stadium, like his own dish. He is then given a taste of the food and found it was delicious, which he realized that the dish made with Mango to enhance the flavor. Even Sōma scored 93 points and ranked 2nd, tied with Ryō after him, Akira is surprised as he saw Sōma has 3 19 points and 2 18 points (from Natsume and Minatozaka), begin to viewed him as close challenge. Together with Sōma, Ryō and the unknown student, Akira advances to the Main Tournament. Tōtsuki Autumn Election: Main Tournament Quarterfinals Akira was present at the Arena for the first day of the Main Tournament. However, his match was not until the second day so he watched from the stands. After the first two quarterfinal matches concluded, Akira left the arena and walked past Sōma and Takumi. Later that day he was sumoned to Tōtsuki HQ to learn about his match's theme as well as his opponent: Hisako Arato. That night, Akira laid out in a field, staring at the night sky. Shiomi found him and told him not to focus too much on winning. Despite her concern for him, Akira took her words as a boost to his morale and vowed to win the tournament for her sake. On the second day of Main Tournament Quarterfinals, Akira's match was the first of the day. As he and Hisako walked into the arena, their theme, hamburgers, was announced to the audience. While they walked to their stations, Akira told Hisako to make sure that Erina was ready to give her Elite Ten Council seat and Tōtsuki's top to him. Unimpressed, Hisako responds to Akira's boast by saying that she will join the Elite Ten first to be with Erina. During the cooking period, Akira was busy at work piling meat for his doner kebab. Hisako presented her dish first and was well received by the judges, but as it concluded, Akira began to cook his first patty. As it sizzled, the aroma from it filled the arena causing all of the attention from the crowd to immediately shift to him. Akira told Hisako that there was more to food than just taste from the mouth. Akira unveiled his dish, a Kofta Kebab Burger. Even though the judges had just finished Hisako's dish, the could not contain their curiosity to his dish after taking a hit from its aroma. A single bite from his burger completely engrossed the judges. Soon enough, despite the heaviness of his dish, the judges finished his burger before they could realize it or properly judge it. Luckily, Senzaemon had enough control of himself to fully pick out the secrets of the burger. Akira used Pita bread to contain the burger while sealing the meat's juices. Next, for his hamburger, Akira used kofta to make full usage of his spice knowledge. As Hisako stood in shock from the judges eating his heavy burger quickly, Akira explained to her that hamburgers have 4 main components: buns, the patty, the sauce, and pickles. He explained that a good burger utilizes all four and that pickles are used to contrast flavors and make the meat's flavor stand out more. He unveiled his pickle choice, achaar, which caused the fat and bad smell of the lamb to become a truly addicting flavor, explaining the judges' actions. Akira told Hisako that he was aiming for the top and was not about to be defeated by someone settling to be "No. 2", calling her will and her "world of cooking" too limited. Akira was declared the winner of his match. Semifinals ---Coming Soon!--- Road to the Finals Immediately after the match, Akira was interviewed by the T.S. Newspaper club where he calmly stated that while he was not happy with the tie, he would shake it off and prepare properly for the finals. Satoshi then entered the arena, wheeling out a large block of ice which he promptly smashed to reveal the main ingredient of the final round: Pacific Saury, a fish that would bring out the strong points in each of the finalists, in Akira's case, his reliance on aroma which compliments the aromatic nature of the saury. Jun arrived in the arena to congratulate Akira with tears in her eyes, however he told her to clean her self up. Immediately after, Ryō confronted Akira, calling him a one-trick spice pony, stating that with all of his cards dealt, he would defeat Akira and Sōma in the finals. Akira was quite bitter by Ryō's insult. As he left the arena, Akira resolved himself to show Ryō the true extent of his aromatic cooking. Cooking Style *'Aromatic Cooking' - Akira has mastered the art of aroma cooking which is heavily based on the smell that his dishes give off to perk up the eater. Akira firmly believes that this art helps to further engross eaters into his food, concentrating on their olfactory senses to truly immerse the eater into his world of cooking. However, even though the dishes smell wonderful, his dishes do not lack in taste, bringing together a harmonious blend of smell and taste. Skills *'Acute sense of smell' - Akira's most defining feature is his acute sense of smell, which is somewhat similar to Erina's God's Tongue. He is able to detect minute aromas in a dish and can even keep track of his dishes during the cooking process without having to look at his pot. *'Spice Mastery' - Akira has a particular affinity with spices, displaying a wide variety and vast wealth of knowledge of their properties. He is also well aware about how certain preparations of spices during the cooking process can change the overall flavor of a dish, even if the spice preparation was the only change. He has easy access to rare spices including Holy Basil, which normally is hard to care for and is not grown locally in Japan, thanks to his job as Jun's assistant, which he has no problem maintaining on his own. *'Doner kebab' - A doner kebab is a turkish dish made by stacking meat then roasting the meat on a vertical spit. After the dish finishes cooking, the chef carves off any excess meat. The process melts the fat and spices throughout the meat. Akira used this device for his Tōtsuki Autumn Election Main Tournament Quarterfinal Match. Dishes Original *'Kozhi Varutha Curry' - Akira's signature curry dishes that uses water instead of coconut milk to cook his curry chicken. Referenced from Tamil Regions of India, Hayama's version of the Tamil-Nadu dish would consist of some fresh spices inside the dish. **'Advanced Kozhi Varutha Curry' - Hayama's improved version of the Kozhi Varutha Curry and this time the curry is actually made with water to make the curry drinkable without taste the tense spice upon it. *'Goa Fish Curry' - Another Akira's fish curry which is made from sword-fish or salmon. *'Curry Fish Head in Naan Pot Pie Soup' - Akira's personal curry masterpiece during the 43rd Annual Tōtsuki Autumn Election. Mixed with his own Mixed Spice and some other elements like Yogurt and Holy Basil, this is a dish that will blow your mind! *'Kofta Kebab Burger' - Akira's dish for the Quarterfinal round in the 43rd Autumn Election. Using pita as bread, Kofta as the patty and adding several rich spices to the taste, despite the heaviness of the burger, you'll be finished without even noticing! *'Canard Apicius' - Akira's dish for the Semifinal round in the 43rd Autumn Election. Pulling out all the stops, Akira effortlessly blended numerous spices on top of a caramelized duck to create a dish that caused the judges to faint from aroma alone. It's a monstrous barrage of spices that will mesmerize your soul! Cooking Duel Record Autumn Election Record Trivia *Hayama ranked 9th in the first popularity poll with 405 votes. *Akira, if written in Kanji, can mean Bright or Intelligent. Hayama literally means "Hill of Leaves", a reference to his specialty with spices. 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